The afternoon of 7/28/2014 found me back out in the yard with my camera, hoping for something interesting to happen by.  Although some might take it as an ominous sign, the first bird of interest was a Turkey vulture that circled overhead.  I have a relatively small window in which to photograph birds flying overhead, but this vulture circled and allowed me the time it takes me to adjust my focus mode (continuous) and shutter speed (1/1250 second) so that I was able to take some photos.

Quite a while later I managed to spot what I think was a Red-eyed vireo (I’m open to other suggestions) in the yard among all of the nuthatches, chickadees and sparrows.  The bird was quite active but I managed a few rather poor photographs.

At first the bird was focused on the watercourse, repeatedly diving towards it much like the White-eyed vireo I photographed in Texas.  However after a few minutes it changed its focus to a birdbath only a few feet away from me.  As far as I could tell, it never landed near the water, but I noticed that it began harassing what I thought was a Black-capped chickadee that was interested in bathing.  My concentration was on the vireo but I suddenly realized that what appeared to be one of the many chickadees in the yard… wasn’t!  It was a warbler!  I later identified it as a juvenile Black-throated gray warbler, the first I had ever recorded in the yard!  I was able to take maybe a couple of dozen photos as it moved to the watercourse for a bath.  I would rather have had an adult, both of which have slightly different plumage, but what the heck…. I had a new yard bird and was able to identify it as different from a chickadee and photograph it under favorable circumstances!

At some point this juvenile Brown-headed cowbird appeared in the yard and made the rounds.  It was devoid of any doting parents so I’m assuming that some couple realized their mistake and cut the bird loose.  The bird at one point stretched its wing in the sun and I obtained this interesting photograph.

This would have been enough for my day, but things weren’t over yet.  A bird suddenly appeared above one of the bird baths and I believe that it was a juvenile Swainson’s thrush, although I am again open to suggestions.  I pondered that it might be a juvenile American robin (and there was indeed one in the yard at the time) but the birds are fairly different in appearance.  I see the juvenile robins quite often and I’m sure this wasn’t one.

And finally, from the previous day while sitting in the yard, a (juvenile female?) Black-headed grosbeak flew up in the tree very near me… uncharacteristically close for this year’s visitors.  I was unable to obtain a photo of the entire bird but I did manage to get a good head shot.